Irish Sea Crossing on Foot 2012

Update: the ISC attempt is over. Sadly, I didn't make it to Ireland - but this was not for any lack of trying. I made it to almost half way…I could see Irish Lights illuminating the clouds! But, the rudder design wasn't up to the battering from the larger than forecast waves. And the attempt was over when the second rudder failed.

I was onbaord the safety boat two hours after we had started the return trip to Wales, when the Tredalo broke up, whilst under tow, and sank.

I hope that you will view the attempt in the spirit in which it was undertaken…as a bit of an adventure to support two great charities that provide very important services and that need your donations to continue to do this…please donate in recognition of the attempt, even though I didn’t make it all the way to Ireland!

Thank you for helping me to raise funds for the Wiltshire Blind Association and the RNLI as I attempt to walk across the Irish Sea, this summer, on a unique human powered raft – The Tredalo – that I have designed and built for the challenge.

The Irish Sea Crossing challenge will require me to power the raft, non-stop, across 66 miles of open sea, which I estimate will take around 40 hrs to complete and will require the consumption of around 30,000 Calories. It will be roughly like running 10 non-stop marathons.

Many of you will know that I am a big supporter of the Wiltshire Blind Association, and based on the nautical nature of this particular challenge I feel it very fitting to support the RNLI - the organisation that would come to my aid if I needed it. Both of these charities provide vital services to those people that they support – services which would be deeply missed if they were not available. So please donate generously and help to keep these services available for those that need them. Your contributions will make a difference!

For more information on the charities, the challenge and of course….to hand over your hard earned cash…please click on one of the links below and donate to your preferred charity, or to both. Donations are made to each page individually – it is not possible to donate to both charities in one transaction, you will need to donate twice.

This is a very serious and tough challenge for me for many reasons, probably my toughest yet. There is no guarantee of success, or in fact of finding the right weather conditions in a year of abnormal weather patterns. So should you wish to see me complete the challenge before you sponsor me - I will understand.

However, if you are happy to sponsor my efforts, the considerable efforts of others to date and the unwavering intention to make the crossing - then please sponsor now and I will do everything I can to ensure that a crossing attempt happens this year.

So I would like to provide my thanks in advance for your support…Chris Todd.